Cranberry Orange Scones

Made cranberry orange scones past Saturday using a recipe a friend sent me...
They're really good!
They were the best on the first day!   Crunchy on the outside... Moist and soft on the inside...  Yummy!

Cranberry Orange Scones (recipe from NPR) Makes 8 very large scones 2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup fresh or dried cranberries Grated zest of 1 orange 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 to 10 pieces 1/2 cup cold nonfat buttermilk 1/2 cup cold creme fraiche 1 cold large egg 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten 2 tablespoons granulated sugar Position a rack in the center of the oven, and heat the oven to 350 degrees . Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand-held mixer), mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, granulated sugar and cranberries on low speed for 10 to 15 seconds, or until combined. Scatter the butter over the top and beat on low speed for about 30 seconds, or until the butter is somewhat broken down and grape-size pieces are still visible. In a small bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, creme fraiche and whole egg until thoroughly mixed. On low speed, pour the buttermilk mixture into the flour-butter mixture and beat for 20 to 30 seconds, or just until the dough comes together. There will still be a little loose flour mixture at the bottom of the bowl. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand. Gather and lift the dough with your hands and turn it over in the bowl, so that it starts to pick up the loose flour at the bottom. Turn over the dough several times until all of the loose flour is mixed in. Dump the dough onto a baking sheet and pat it into an 8-inch circle about 1 inch thick. Brush the egg yolk evenly over the entire top of the dough circle. Sprinkle the sanding sugar evenly over the top, then cut the circle into 8 wedges, as if cutting a pizza. (At this point, the unbaked scones can be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 1 week. Proceed as directed, baking directly from the freezer and adding 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.) Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, or until the entire circle is golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes, then cut into the prescored wedges (the cuts will be visible but will have baked together) and serve. The scones taste best on the day they are baked, but they can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. If you keep them for longer than 1 day, refresh them in a 300-degree oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Or, you can freeze them, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 1 week. Reheat, directly from the freezer, in a 300-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

I also have a lot of fun with the photos I took from iPhone... ;)

And more fun....

Ada's Mini Slaw

I really like the Singapore Slaw dish at Susur Lee's Lee restaurant.
After searching on the web, I've found his recipe.
However, it contains too many ingredients that are not easily available in average grocery stores.  It also needs a lot of work.
So, I've came up with my own little Mini Slaw using ingredients that can be easily found.
If I want the full version, I can eat that at Lee.  ;)


Ada's Mini Slaw

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
Pickled Red Onions (see recipe below)
Salted Apricot Dressing (see recipe below)
1 large English cucumber, julienned
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
2 large Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
4 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
1 bag of Terra Veggie Stix

To serve:

1. Mix cucumber, carrot and tomatoes in a big bowl
2. Divide the veggie mixture between plates
3. Use a small colander to drain the pickled red onions and put them on top of the veggie mixture
4. Add 1 cup of Terra Stix per plate around the veggie mixture. 
5. Serve with Salted Apricot Dressing alongside

Depending on each person's taste, they can add different amount of dressing.
For me, I like to add approx. 4 teaspoon of dressing per 750 ml of salad.


Pickled Red Onion

Ingredients:
2 small red onions
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black peppers
1/4 teaspoon thyme

Directions:

1. Peel and julienne red onion and set aside in a medium bowl. 
2. In small saucepan, bring vinegar, water, salt, black peppers, and thyme to a boil. 
3. Add onion into the small saucepan and stirr occassionally until it boils. (You'll see bubbles from the sauce and smoke coming out.)
   
4. Turn off the heat, cover the saucepan, and let it sit for 30 mins.

Note: I like my onions cooked.  If you like your onion more raw, then turn off the heat after adding onions and let it sit for 1 hour.


Salted Apricot Dressing

 Ingredients:
1/4 cup ume (plum) paste 
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon mirin 
1 teaspoon dashi
2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly grinded ginger
A pinch of sea salt (approx. 1/8 teaspoon)

(Ume paste can easily be found in any Japanese store.  Mirin and dashi can easily be found in any Chinese or Japanese store.)

Directions:

1. Mix ume paste, vinegar, mirin, dashi, olive oil, sugar, ginger, and salt in a bowl until it is well mixed.

Note:  If you like your dressing to be less sour, you can add less rice wine vinegar.


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Here is Susur Lee's Singapore Slaw recipe from New Asian Cuisine:

Singapore Slaw

By Susur Lee, Author of Susur: A Culinary Life

Serves 4

1 Pickled Red Onion (see recipe below)
1 1/2 cups Salted Apricot Dressing (see recipe below)
2 green onions, both white and green parts, julienned
2 ounces rice vermicelli, broken into 3 pieces
1 large English cucumber, julienned
1 large carrot, peeled and julienned
1 small jicama, peeled and julienned
2 large Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced
4 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
6 teaspoons crushed roasted peanuts
4 teaspoons edible flower petals
4 teaspoons fennel seedlings
4 teaspoons purple basil seedlings
4 teaspoons daikon sprouts
4 teaspoons fried shallots

Pickled Red Onion
1 red onion
1 cup rice wine vinegar
1cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 bay leaf
1 sprig thyme

Salted Apricot Dressing
1 cup salted apricot (ume) paste
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon mirin
1 teaspoon dashi
1 1/2 tablespoon onion oil
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

For Pickled Red Onion:
Peel and julienne red onion and set aside in a medium bowl. In small saucepan, bring vinegar and water to a boil. Season with salt, peppercorns, fennel seeds, bay leaf and thyme; continue boiling for another 5 minutes. Pour mixture over onion while hot and let sit for 1 hour.

For Salted Apricot Dressing:
In blender, combine apricot paste, vinegar, mirin, Dashi, Onion Oil, sugar, ginger, and salt. Puree until smooth.

For Singapore Slaw Salad:
Soak green onion in very cold water to keep crisp. Meanwhile, heat large pot of oil. When temperature reaches 400°F, deep fry taro root, half the amount at a time, for 2 minutes until crisp and light gold in color. Remove slices from oil, place on paper towel, and lightly salt. At same temperature, quickly deep fry vermicelli, half at a time, for 2 seconds, or until they curl. Remove vermicelli from oil, place on paper towel, and lightly salt.

To serve:
Remove julienned green onion from bowl and drain. Divide vermicelli equally between 4 plates and arrange green onion, cucumber, carrot, jicama, tomatoes, and pickled red onion around noodles. Top with fried taro root. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and crushed peanuts over each salad. In small bowl, combine edible flower petals, seedlings, sprouts, and fried shallots. Sprinkle flower-sprout-shallot mixture on salad and serve with Salted Apricot Dressing alongside.

===================================================

蒸水蛋 Steamed Eggs

Read an article today from Yahoo News about steamed eggs.... a very traditional Chinese dish... 

It's another example of No Pain No Gain!!  ^o^


The amount of time spent on whisking the eggs is very important. 
If you want to have smooth steamed eggs, you need to whisk the eggs for 20 mins.   (No pain no gain!!!  I guess my hand will be sore after the whisking. :P   )
Also, you need to slowly add water while whisking.  On average, for each egg, you need to add water that's 3 times the amount of an egg.
After whisking is done, let it sit for 5 mins and then use a spoon to scoop away the surface bubbles.
The plate holding the egg mixture should be less than 1 inch in dept and let it steam for 8-10 mins.

I wonder how long I need to whisk the eggs if I use a electrical mixer... ;-)



====================
蒸水蛋

星島日報 – 2012年3月5日

 (綜合報道)(星島日報報道)在中菜入面，有很多簡單的菜式，但這些被人認為是家常小菜的菜式，其實都是易做難精，其中有一個菜式我們經常都會食到，就是蒸水蛋，但好多人都覺得在家中吃到的蒸水蛋不夠滑、不夠香，而在食肆食到的，總是又滑又香的，當中是否有甚麼秘訣是大家不知道的？

 　　說明白一點，蒸水蛋其實沒有甚麼秘訣，有的只是技巧。在很多飲食節目中，節目主持人都教大家如何做一個好的蒸水蛋，大部分都是教大家用保鮮紙將水蛋封好再蒸，這個方法只可以令到蒸出來的水蛋沒有倒汗水，對水蛋的香與滑根本沒有影響。

 　　要做一個最香最滑的水蛋，技巧在於耐性。我記得在我初入行的時候，曾經向酒家負責蒸菜的師傳請教，如何做好一個蒸水蛋，他第一句說話就問我，一般打發蛋的時間要多少？我說三至五分鐘，他便告訴我，這就是做不出好的蒸水蛋問題所在。要做一個又香又滑的蒸水蛋，一般打發蛋的時間是二十分鐘，而在打發的時候，要慢慢加水，要加多少水，就要視乎你想做的水蛋要淡味一點，還是濃味一點，一般我們行內的標準是一隻蛋加三隻蛋分量的水。打發好了的水蛋在拿去蒸之前，要先放平，靜止五分鐘，在入爐前，把浮在蛋漿面層的小氣泡挑走。至於蒸的時間要多久，就要視乎你用來蒸水蛋的容器深度，最好是不超過一吋深，因為太深的容器會導致水蛋面層過熟而入面未熟的問題，而太淺的容器就是太難控制火候，一般用一吋深的容器，大概蒸八至十分鐘即可。 　　（男煮角 黃永幟）

====================

Banana and Kiwi Muffins

Made a batch of banana & kiwi muffins today...  :)

The muffin tasted really good. 
It was moist and not too sweet.  The slightly sour taste of the kiwi added a twist to the banana muffin.

My only complain is the look.  The muffins looked very good in the oven... nice and puffy...  But they shrinked after getting out of the oven, so the muffin tops had wrinkles. 

=======================
Banana and Kiwi Muffins
(original recipe from Food.com)

Ingredients:

    1/2 cup sugar
    2 cups flour
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 tablespoon baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    3/4 cup vanilla yogurt
    6 tablespoons milk
    3 tablespoons oil
    1 egg
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    2 large ripe bananas , mashed
    3 ripe kiwi , chopped into small cubes

Directions:

1. Combine the first 6 ingredients (DRY) in a large mixing bowl; set aside.
2. Mix yogurt, milk, oil, egg, vanilla and mashed bananas together in a smaller bowl until well-combined (WET).
3. Add WET mixture to the DRY mixture, mix until just combined (DO NOT OVERMIX) - lumps are ok.
4. Now stir in chopped kiwi gently.
5. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375°F or 180°C for 25-30mins (mini muffins take about 20mins).
6. Cool in pan for 10mins, then remove and cool thoroughly on wire rack.

=======================

楊枝甘露 (healthy version)

If you have been to any Chinese dessert place, you would definitely know 楊枝甘露.  It's a Mango, Pomelo & Sago sweet soup dessert.

Sago tastes good in dessert, but sago contains more than 90% carbohydrate.  It's not that healthy.
Also, Philippines mango is hard to get in winter times.  It's easier to get Mexico mango in grocery stores.
So, I've decided to make a healthier version of 楊枝甘露 that can be made in winter times.

The recipe originated from Miss Jubie's Blog and I've made some changes to it.


楊枝甘露 

Ingredients (serves 5-6)
2 Mangoes (Philippines or Mexico)
3/4 Honey Pomelo
120ml Coconut milk
120ml Evaporated milk
400ml Mango Puree
2 Rock sugars
4 cups water



Directions
1) Peel the honey pomelo and remove all membrane from the pulps.  Use hand to take apart the pulps into individual pulp.
2) Cut Mango into small cubes.
3) Boil water in a pot.  After water has been boiled, add rock sugars.  Turn down to medium heat and keep boiling until all rock sugars have been dissolved.  I've added 2 rock sugars:  one rock sugar the size of ping pong and another rock sugar 1/3 size of ping pong.  After rock sugars have been dissolved, you can taste it.  The sweet water should be a bit sweeter than what you would like the dessert to be.
4) Add coconut milk into the sweet water.  Bring it to a boil and turn off the heat. 
5) Wait until the sweet water is completely cooled down.
6) Add mango puree and evaporated milk into the sweet water.  Stir well.
7) Add mango cubes and pomelo pulps.  Stir well.
8) Put it in the fridge for a few hours.

Note: You can adjust the amount of Coconut milk, Evaporated milk, Mango Puree, and Rock sugars based on your taste.  For example, if you want more coconut taste, you can add more coconut milk.   If you want a thicker sweet soup, you can add more evaporated milk.  I like mine with more mango taste.  ;)


Overall
I would give this dessert 4.5/5. 
It would've tasted even better if Philippines mangoes were used.

生炒糯米飯 (Pan-Fried Sticky Rice)

Last night was my first attempt to make 生炒糯米飯.
I'd made sticky rice before, but I'd not tried "生炒".

生炒糯米飯 means you pan-fried glutinous rice from raw rice.  You don't cook the rice in rice cooker first. 生炒糯米飯 will take a lot of time and energy.

I'd looked at different recipes on the web, combined them, and came up with the following recipe with a little secret to speed up the process.


生炒糯米飯 (for 2-3 people)

材料：
糯米(glutinous rice or sticky rice)　      1碗
臘腸 (chinese sausage)　 2條
冬菇 (dried mushroom)　3隻
蝦米(dried shrimp)           8  (I used the big dried shrimp and not the little one)

蛋 (egg)                            2

調味料:
糖                                   1 tsp
老抽                               1 tbsp
蠔油                               1 tbsp

事前準備：

1) 浸糯米最少半天, 其間要換水。
2) 浸冬菇最少半天

3) 浸蝦米最少半天

做法:
1) 臘腸, 冬菇, 和蝦米切細粒
2) 浸冬姑的水和浸蝦米的水可以留用
3) 煲一大煲水，水滾後，把浸好的糯米倒入，不停攪拌。1分鐘後，撈起糯米，用清水沖洗，瀝乾水份備用。
4) 打蛋, 用易潔鑊煎蛋。煎好後切絲。
5) 炒臘腸, 冬菇, 和蝦米。 炒到聞到香味後, 即可撈起備用。
6) 之前炒臘腸已讓易潔鑊大部份的地方沾上油。 將糯米放入鑊炒。
7)  感覺到糯米水份已收乾時，加入浸冬菇/蝦米的水。 每次下1-2 湯匙，沿鑊邊下。要不停炒約5分鐘。
8) 放入臘腸, 冬菇, 蝦米, 和蛋絲。當所有配料拌勻後，加調味料。繼續炒。拌勻後即成。

My Review
The sticky rice was very good. :D
The rice made using this recipe was more sticky, more chewy, and less soft than the sticky rice made using rice cooker.
Comparing this to the restaurant/food court ones, this sticky rice was already better than a lot of them.
I find it still a bit soft compared to the one I ate at 味全茶餐廳.
Winter is coming.  I'll have plenty of time to experiment with this recipe to make the best 生炒糯米飯.  ;-)


Updated - Jan 1 2012
Since I put this recipe, I've tried making this sticky rice a few times and refined the recipe above:
   - step 3: change from 2 分鐘 to 1 分鐘 
   - step 7: change from 炒約9分鐘 to 炒約5分鐘

Review: Fish Soup Noodles House (魚湯店)

 Overall Rating: 4/5

[2012-10-09 - Drove by the place on the weekend and noticed that this place has been closed down. :(  ]

Wen and I went to the Fish Soup Noodles House (魚湯店) twice.  We really like their fish soup.

This store had very good fish soup.   I wouldn't considered it to be the best.  The best fish soup noodle I had was from 楓林閣海鮮酒家.   Unfortunately, 楓林閣海鮮酒家 had been closed down for a long time. 

For $7.50, we got to pick the type of soup (i.e. fish soup, tom yum goong soup, etc.) , the type of noodle (i.e. rice noodle, vermicell, etc) and 2 toppings (i.e. beef, fish balls, etc.).  Additional toppings required additional charges. 
 
The first time we went there, I had tried the fish soup with vermicelli (粉絲), pork neck pieces (豬頸肉), and  fish skin dumpling (魚皮餃).  The fish soup had strong fish taste but no 魚腥味.  The soup was hot, which I liked it very much.  In additional to my two selected toppings, the noodle soup also contained japanese crab meat (蟹柳), mushrooms (冬菇), bean curd skin (腐皮), Loofah (勝瓜), and green onion (蔥).   The pork neck pieces and fish skin dumpling were both very good.

We also had 2 appetizers: pan fried fish cake (煎魚餅) and spicy beef brisket (川味牛腩).  They were both good.  The fish cake had small pieces of squid in it, which make the taste and feeling (口感) better than normal fish cakes.  We had ordered the fish cake again the second time we were there.

Today, we went to the Fish Soup Noodles House for a second time.  There were lots of customers.  I had the fish soup with vermicelli (粉絲), cuttlefish balls (墨魚丸), and squid (魷魚).   Wen had  the fish soup with rice noodle (河粉), cuttlefish balls (墨魚丸), and beef (滑牛肉).

The additional toppings were more or less the same as last time: japanese crab meat (蟹柳), mushrooms (冬菇), bean curd skin (腐皮), white turnip (白蘿蔔), and green onion (蔥).   I didn't like the white turnip.  Since I don't really like white turnip except for pan fried turnip cake (蘿蔔糕), I wasn't the right person to comment on it.  However, Wen also preferred the white turnip to be softer, so it wasn't just me.  The cuttlefish balls were good, but the squids were a bit chewy.  The squids were probably boiled a bit too long.

We also had the pan fried fish cake and the tea taste chicken wings (茶味雞翅) for appetizer. The chicken wings had a smoke taste to them, but I didn't taste any tea taste.  It's good if you don't treat it as tea taste chicken wings.

Fish Soup Noodles House 魚湯店

505 Hwy 7 E
Unit 50-53
Thornhill, ON L3T 7P6


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Gold kiwifruit upside down cake

Last night, I made the Gold kiwifruit upside down cake.  Of course, it became my dessert/afternoon snack today.  I followed the recipe from taste.com.au with slight changes.

Gold kiwifruit upside down cake

Ingredients (serves 10)

30g butter, melted
2 tbs brown sugar
2 firm gold kiwifruit, peeled, cut into 5mm slices
125g butter, at room temperature
1 cup (220g) sugar   (I used regular sugar.  The original recipe used castor sugar.)
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups (225g) self-raising flour
(I don't have self-raising flour, so I used  1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour, 2 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder and 3/4 teaspoon of salt)
1/2 cup (45g) desiccated coconut (I used those small shredded coconut that are used for making glutinous rice balls)
3/4 cup (185ml) orange juice


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 20cm-square cake pan with non-stick baking paper. (I used a Round Springform Cake Pan without the non-stick baking paper.) Pour the butter over the base of the pan and sprinkle with the brown sugar, then top with the kiwifruit in a single layer.
2. Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar for 3 minutes or until pale and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Fold in the flour, coconut and orange juice until combined.
3. Spoon over the kiwifruit. Smooth the surface. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Set aside for 10 minutes before turning out.

Overall
I would give this cake 3.5/5.
The texture of this cake is in between a cake and a coconut macaroon. 
The sourness in the top layer kiwi balances well with the sweetness in the cake.  It makes the overall taste not too sweet. 
I like the kiwi layer.  However, Wen doesn't like the sourness in the kiwi layer.  He prefers not to have that layer.  I guess he has a bigger sweet tooth than me.  ;-)

Chicken Chunks Salad

Recent weather has been extremely hot, so I was planning to make chicken salad sandwich for lunch... since I have chicken breast part left over from the BBQ chicken takeout two days ago...   Yes... I don't really like the breast part that much... I prefer dark meat...   
Then, I changed my mine...  Why not have chicken chunks salad instead?

With salad dressing, the chicken breast is not dry.  The salad tastes good.  This is a good way to use up the left over chicken breasts.  ;)

There isn't really a recipe.  I just sort of mix everything together...  hahahaha... :D

Ingredients
2 cups of cooked chicken breast chunks
1 apple
1/2 onion
some dry parsley flakes   (The green flakes make the salad looks nicer.)

Sauce:
4 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon honey
a bit of salt
a bit of black pepper
(Note: You can change the amount depending on your liking.  For example: if you like the sauce to be sweeter, you can add more honey, etc.)

Directions

1. Chop the onion into very small pieces
2. Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, honey, salt, black pepper in a large bowl until everything is well combined. 
3. Add chicken chunks and onions to the large bowl and mix well with the sauce mixture.
4. In an separate bowl, add water and some salt.  Mix well.
5. Peel the apple skin and cut the apple into small chunks.   Since we don't want the apple to turn brown in colour, put the apple in salt water (#4) when you are not cutting it yet.
6. Mix apple chunks and dry parsley flakes with the chicken chunks salad (#3).
7. Put it in fridge.

The perfect piece of toast

Scientists have come up the definition of a perfect toast:

• The 'ultimate balance of external crunch and internal softness' is the outside is 12 times crunchier than the middle
• The preferred shade of toasted bread was 'builder's brew' - or a score of 24 on a 48 point scale

How to make that perfect toast? 

1. The optimum toast thickness is 14mm
2. Best to use a pale, seeded, loaf, taken fresh from the fridge at a temperature of 3 degrees Celsius
3. Using a toaster rather than a grill so both sides of the bread should be cooked at the same time
4. Setting the toaster dial to 'five out of six' on a typical 900-watt appliance to produce a temperature of 154 degrees Celsius
5. 216 seconds is the exact amount of time needed to toast the outside to the desired level before the golden 12:1 exterior/interior crispiness ratio is lost.
6. Should then be buttered as soon as it pops up, before the slice loses the heat required to melt the spread.
7. The ideal amount of butter is 0.44 grams per square inch
8. The cooked and buttered slice should be cut once, diagonally, and served on a plate warmed to 45 degrees Celsius, to minimise condensation beneath the toast.

===========
Source:
The perfect piece of toast: Scientists test 2,000 slices and find 216 seconds is the optimum time
By Daily Mail Reporter

Scientists today revealed the mathematical formula for a perfect slice of toast, showing that it is best cooked for exactly 216 seconds.

A team of researchers carried out a study which found the optimum thickness is 14mm and the ideal amount of butter is 0.44 grams per square inch.

The recommended cooking time gives the slice a 'golden-brown' colour and the 'ultimate balance of external crunch and internal softness'.
Perfect: The ideal slice of toast is cooked for just over three minutes, according to scientists

Perfect: The ideal slice of toast is cooked for just over three minutes, according to scientists

It has the look of 'builder's tea' and, crucially, the outside is 12 times crunchier than the middle.

The result is achieved by setting the toaster dial to 'five out of six' on a typical 900-watt appliance to produce a temperature of 154 degrees Celsius, the study revealed.

Bread expert Dr Dom Lane, a consultant food researcher, spent one week toasting and tasting a staggering 2,000 slices for his research, in his bid to assist the nation's toast eaters.

Peering into a hidden world: Stunning close-up images reveal alien landscapes of everyday food and drink

We chomp our way through more than 94.2 million slices daily, though our enjoyment can be spoiled by burnt or soggy specimens.

During his exhaustive study, commissioned by bread maker Vogel's, Dr Lane used a complex formula to help determine the toasting required to produce the perfect level of crispiness.

He found that 216 seconds was the exact amount of time needed to toast the outside to the desired level before the golden 12:1 exterior/interior crispiness ratio was lost.
The toaster should be 154 degrees Celsius to get the best results

The toaster should be 154 degrees Celsius to get the best results

He also discovered it was best to use a pale, seeded, loaf, taken fresh from the fridge at a temperature of 3 degrees Celsius.

Both sides of the bread should be cooked at the same time, using a toaster rather than a grill, to help 'curtail excessive moisture loss'.

It should then be buttered as soon as it pops up, before the slice loses the heat required to melt the spread.

The report says: 'The quantity of butter is important - too much and the toast will lose crucial rigidity, too little and the moisture lost during toasting will not be replaced.'
'The quantity of butter is important - too much and the toast will lose crucial rigidity, too little and the moisture lost during toasting will not be replaced'

It even concludes that the cooked and buttered slice should be cut once, diagonally, and served on a plate warmed to 45 degrees Celsius, to minimise condensation beneath the toast.

But it is important the plate is not too hot or it will continue the cooking process and ruin the perfectly formed slice, scientists concluded.

The report adds: 'Obviously the shape of the piece of toast once taken into the mouth doesn't affect the flavour or texture.

'But crucial butter and other toppings may be lost on entry, deposited on cheek or lip. We therefore recommend a triangular serving for ease of consumption.'

The study polled 1,913 people and found the nation's preferred shade of toasted bread was 'builder's brew' - or a score of 24 on a 48 point scale.

Getting a slice of bread to this colour typically took 216 seconds and gave an exterior-interior crunchyness ratio of 12.
The toast should be buttered as soon as it pops up, before the slice loses the heat required to melt the spread

The toast should be buttered as soon as it pops up, before the slice loses the heat required to melt the spread

The researchers made numerous changes to the way the bread was stored, toasted and buttered to find the most reliable method of obtaining this ratio.

Dr Lane said: 'When you pop a piece of bread in the toaster it gradually turns the bread molecules brown. The process is known as the Maillard reaction. It's nature transforming the mundane into the magical.

'Fundamentally, it's about the ratio of surface to inner elasticity.

'In an untoasted slice of bread it's obviously 1:1, or a difference of 0, but during toasting moisture is expelled, reducing the elasticity of the bread's surface - measured in Pascals, the international unit of bendiness - until it achieves a deformation limit. In other words, the toast gets crispy.

'This initial insight led us to develop the 'Vogel's Curve', which plots the varying degrees of crunchiness and colour during toasting.

'Taking the most popular mid-point toast tone and the terribly complicated maths behind the curve, we derived the formula for the perfect slice of toast.

'It was then relatively straightforward to develop a five-step process, allowing toast lovers to replicate our laboratory method in their own kitchens.'

芒果奶酪 (Mango Milk Yogurt/Pudding)

I like the 芒果奶酪 from a Japanese All You Can Eat restaurant, so I've decided to make it myself.  There are different recipes on the internet.  After comparing different ones, I've decided to partially follow the one from Apa Kabar blog and added my own modifications.

So here is my modified version:

Ingredients
2% Milk - 2 cup
Half and half cream - 1  cup
Gelatin - 1 envelope (7 g)
Suger - 1.5 tablespoon
Mango - 2
Mango puree - 3/4 cup

Directions
1) Pour milk, sugar, and gelatin into a saucepan
2) Heat it over medium heat and stir constantly until you see smokes.  Then, turn off the heat. 
3) There could be come gelatin floating.  I use a spoon to make sure the gelatin is completely dissolved in the hot milk.
4) Add cream into the milk.  This will help to cool down the mixture.
5) Pour the mixture in small containers and store them in fridge overnight.

Next day
6) Cut the mango into small pieces.
7) Mix the mango with mango puree.
8) Put the mango mixture on top of the milk yogurt/pudding.

This recipe will yield 5-6 cups.

It's a success! :)
Wen likes it. He said this one is better than the restaurant one. :D

Review: Guu SakaBar

Overall Rating: 4/5

Guu has opened a 2nd restaurant on Bloor.
When I was there, there were so many people there and people just kept coming in.

Guu is a Japanese Bar, but I don't see a lot of people drinking and I do see kids.  I guess it's because of the time.  I went there during dinner time.  If I go there on Sat night, it's most likely that most people will be drinking.

Guu sells Japanese Tapas and most of them you won't find in other Japanese restaurant. 

Here were the food that I had tried:

- Oshi Zushi (torched marinated mackerel pressed sushi)
     -- It's hard to find pressed sushi in Toronto.  This might be the only place left.  In terms of the sushi, it's ok but not excellent. The rice and the fish felt apart when I picked up the sushi using chopsticks.

- Salmon Natto Yukke (chopped salmon sashimi w/ 5 friends wrap in seaweed)
     -- This was very good.  We first mixed the salmon sashimi with Natto (fermented soybeans), shibazuke (purple pickles), wonton chips, green onion, and raw quail egg.  Then, we wrapped the mixture in seaweed.  

- Temari Zushi (torched salmon, cream cheese sushi balls)
     -- Good sushi... I guess it's the closest I'll get to sushi balls in Toronto.  I won't be able to find the sushi balls in tvb series 魚躍在花見.

- Assorted oden (taro jelly, puffed fish cake, deep fried tofu, fish cake, daikon radish, egg)
     -- The puffed fish cake is interesting... kind of like tofu...
     -- You can find similar dish in other Japanese restaurants/stores.

- Assorted Kushi Age (deep fried kebab: ham, bacon, quail egg, lotus root, potato)
     -- The bacon kebab was good.  It's not too oily.
     -- You can find similar dish in other Japanese restaurants/stores as well. 

- Okonomiyaki (deep fried pancake with yakisoba noodles)
     -- Good pancake!  I was actually expecting the noodles to be inside the pancake.

- Buta-don (BBQ pork on rice)
   -- The rice had a mustard mayo sauce.  It made the rice not too heavy and made me want to eat more.

- Gindara (miso marinated black cod)
     -- You can find this dish in other Japanese restaurants/stores.  May be I can make this dish at home.  ;)

- Hiza-nan (Deep fried chicken knee)
     -- You'll sometimes find this dish in Chinese congee/noodle restaurants.

Dessert:
- Sake tiramisu
     -- Lots of Sake taste but not enough coffee taste.  It's still very good.

- Green tea cheese cake 
    -- Good cake... very green tea but it's not green in colour...  There were some tea leaves inside the cake.  Guu probably used green tea leaves instead of powder to make the cake.


Photos of the food


Guu SakaBar
555 Bloor St. West, Toronto, Ontario

Review: Kyu Shou Japanese Noodle House (九州生拉麵)

Overall Rating: 2/5

As time goes by, a restaurant evolves... for better or worst. 
For Kyu Shou, I had decided to give it one more try after I had a bad experience several months ago.  Why one more try?  Well, this restaurant used to be my favorite ramen place to go.

The service is still not as good compared to when it was first opened.  Now, customers are getting similar to fast food place type of service.  Menu has changed drastically... more focus on bento and Korean dish.  It is so sad to see that the restaurant has lost its own image of an authentic ramen place and has turned into a typical Japanese / Korean restaurant.  It used to have different types of ramen, but now it only kept the pork bone soup ramen.

I had ordered Pork Cartilage Ramen (豬軟骨拉麵) and Wen ordered KyuShou Ramen (九州拉麵).

When the ramen arrived, I was shocked to see my pork cartilage ramen (豬軟骨拉麵) had turned into a Korean/Chinese dish.  The pork cartilage was held separately from the ramen bowl.  The pork cartilage was cooked in some soya sauce with green onion and had bones in it. It was over cooked and too salty. The pork cartilage completely didn't match the pork bone soup ramen.  As for the ramen, the soup and noodle are ok. But you could not tell that it had any Japanese feel. The half egg on top was still cold from fridge. I remembered that the egg used to be soft-boiled (溏心) egg, not hard-boiled egg.   The Japanese BBQ Pork (日式叉燒) in Wen's ramen was just thin pieces of pork. They were definitely not Japanese BBQ Pork.

The food gave me the feeling that the chef did not know what is Japanese ramen... Not to mention a good Japanese ramen.

If you want food court Japanese food, this would be the place to go.
If you are looking for something with quality, you'll have better luck finding elsewhere.

I guess this restaurant would better position itself as a cheap fast food type Japanese restaurant.  This way, at least I would have no expectations when eating there.

Overall Rating: 2/5

Banana Sour Cream Cake

Well, I have some sour cream left over from Waldorf Salad.
Since the sour cream will be expiring soon, I've decided to do some baking.
I've found the following recipe.  It is known on web as 瓊妮老太太 recipe.
I didn't add cinnamon or nuts.   Since my purpose is to use up the sour cream, I didn't add extra bananas.   I think this recipe will taste even better with more bananas. 
Also, I used muffin cups and bake them for approx. 20 mins. 

The cake is good! :-)
I wish there is a way to keep the muffin top crispy for a few days.



材料:

1 條奶油 butter (= 1/2 杯)
1 杯糖 sugar
2 個蛋(先打成蛋汁,以便徐徐倒入)
1 杯中筋麵粉 all purpose flour
1/2 杯全麥麵粉 whole wheat flour
1 小匙蘇打粉 baking soda
1 1/2 小匙肉桂粉 cinnamon
1 1/4 杯香蕉泥 mashed banana(大約三條香蕉去皮,用叉子壓壓,擣成泥狀)
1/2 杯酸奶油 sour cream (可用原味優格代替)
1 小匙香草精 vanilla
1 杯乾果仁 nuts

香蕉泥若用得多，就減少酸奶油的用量，兩項總量不超過1又3/4杯即可。


做法:

1. 烤盤噴油防沾，或鋪上烤盤紙，烤箱預熱華氏350度(攝氏175度)
2. 麵粉/蘇打粉/肉桂粉置於碗或塑膠袋內，混合均勻
3. 奶油室溫軟化，或置於可微波的大碗中，微波加熱20秒軟化
4. 加入糖打至膨鬆
5. 加入蛋汁打勻
6. 加入香蕉泥/酸奶油/香草精續打勻
7. 分次加入粉類拌勻
8. 拌入乾果仁
9. 倒入烤盤，烤1小時或以牙籤插入不沾即可

提示:

. 香蕉愈熟愈香，快要爛掉的香蕉用來烤蛋糕最合適了。平常可以先把過熟的香蕉去皮裝入塑膠袋冷凍保存。解凍後，隔著塑膠袋用手抓捏幾下就成泥了，顏色會變深，但不影響成品。

. 喜歡鬆軟口感者，可將全麥改以低筋麵粉代替。

Recipe from:
http://mypaper.pchome.com.tw/fchih/post/1242278389

Waldorf Salad - Try #2 - Success!

This is my second try using a different recipe found on web.
I've made some changes to it... I didn't add walnuts and I used fresh grapes (cut in half) instead of raisins.

-------------------------

Waldorf Salad Recipe

Servings = 8 | Serving size =3/4 cup

This recipe is listed as 30 minutes active cooking time, but you will need to allow an additional two hours for chilling afterwards. Fortunately, this recipe keeps fairly well refrigerated for about 2 days.

2 medium granny smith apples
1 medium red delicious apple
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup celery
1/4 cup walnuts
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise
1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
1 1/2 tsp honey

Mix the cubed apples with the lemon juice.

Add celery, walnuts and raisins. Toss.

Add mayonnaise, sour cream and honey and gently fold together until well blended.

Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

From Dr. Gourmet

-------------------------

Results:
It is good! :D
Try #2 is a success!!!  
This one is similar to the one Wen had on the cruise. 
It's easy to make for a potluck party.   ;-)

Waldorf Salad - Try #1

Wen had Waldorf Salad on the cruise and really liked it.
I only have a small bite, but it's good.
Since Waldorf Salad uses easy ingredients, I've decided to make it.

This salad got its name from the luxurious Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. Invented in 1896 not by a chef but by the maître d'hôtel Oscar Tschirky, the Waldorf salad was an instant success.


I searched the internet and found an easy recipe.
This is going to be my Try #1.

-------------------------
Waldorf Salad Recipe

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup chopped, slightly toasted walnuts
* 1/2 cup celery, thinly sliced
* 1/2 cup red seedless grapes, sliced (or a 1/4 cup of raisins)
* 1 sweet apple, cored and chopped
* 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
* 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
* Salt
* Pepper
* Lettuce

Method

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise (or yogurt) and the lemon juice. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of fresh ground pepper. Mix in the apple, celery, grapes, and walnuts. Serve on a bed of fresh lettuce.

Serves 2.

From Simple Recipes

-------------------------


Results:
I've made one salad with celery for Wen and one salad without celery for myself.
The taste of this salad is different from the one I had on the cruise.
Comparing to the one from cruise, this one is:
- more sour
- more sauce
Also, I think the one from cruise doesn't have pepper.

枸杞水 and 老花眼

Got another email from friend regarding "枸杞水"...
"枸杞" is good for health and good for eyes...
 

“天天枸杞水活到兩百歲”

李清雲（1677至1933年）壽享256年，是清末民初的中醫藥學者，也是世界上著名的長壽老人。在他100歲時曾因在中醫中藥方面的傑出成就獲政府的特別獎勵，在他200歲時，仍常去大學講學。這期間他曾接受過許多西方學者的來訪。李清雲一生娶過24個妻子，子孫滿堂，他認為自己健康長壽的原因有三：一長期素食，二心靜，開朗，三常年將枸杞煮水當茶飲。

英國，法國的醫學科研工作者得到這一消息後，便對枸杞進行了深入研究，發現枸杞中含有一種沒有見過的維生素，便取名為的“X維生素，也稱為”駐顏維生素。經動物實驗證實，枸杞具有抑制脂肪在纖維內蓄積，促進肝細胞的新生，降低血糖及膽固醇等作用。枸杞的返老還童作用表現為：對腦細胞和內分泌腺有激活和新生作用，增強荷爾蒙的分泌，清除血中積存的毒素，從而可維持體內各組織器官的正常功能。

中醫早已認可枸杞延年益壽，枸杞的祛疾延齡作用由來已久，早在“詩經”，“山海經”中均有記載。

中國醫學科學院研究證實，枸杞能提高人體免疫力，在抗腫瘤治療中能減輕環磷酰胺的毒副作用，促進造血功能恢復，升高周圍血的白細胞數，對機體產生保護作用。

此外，枸杞能抑制脂肪在肝細胞內沉積，防止脂肪肝，促進肝細胞新生，也能抑制單胺氧化酶的活性。

西醫印證了枸杞的強大功效，現代文明發現，枸杞至少含有：
以甜菜鹼為主的5種生物鹼，數十種甾醇類化合物，16種微量元素，多種維生素，（胡蘿蔔素幾乎是所有食品中含量最高的），3種脂肪酸，16種氨基酸。大量的水溶性多醣。

據英國科學家最近研究，天然的β胡蘿蔔素能抗老，抗癌及預防日照皮膚損傷。科學家認定，自由基是人體代謝產生的惰性因子，是機體老化及癌變的活性劑。而β胡蘿蔔素能消滅清除自由基的惡性作用，因而是延緩衰老的一種較為理想的飲食因素。科研證明，飲食中如含有大量的胡蘿蔔素，則某些癌症發病率可大為降低，尤其是口腔，肺，前列腺，皮膚和肝癌等。同時β胡蘿蔔素還可增強人體免疫系統功能。

枸杞食療配方：
服食枸杞子延年卻老的方式方法很多，數千年的食補食療文化，孕育了以枸杞子為主藥的多種劑型的藥方。以下列舉實用簡便易學的一些藥膳配方，以饗讀者。

草龍珠蜜汁枸杞子：枸杞子，龍眼肉各20克，葡萄乾50克，蜂蜜20克，菠蘿200克。以上各種用淨水沖淨，入小碗加蜂蜜及適量水入蒸籠蒸20分鐘。

常服延年益壽，充實正氣，補氣養血。

枸杞枇杷膏：
枸杞子，枇杷果，黑芝麻，桃仁各50克，蜂蜜適量，將枇杷果，桃仁切碎，枸杞子，黑芝麻洗淨加水浸泡放入鍋內，大火燒沸，小火熬煮20分鐘，取煎汁1次，加水再煮共取液3次，合併煎液，用小火濃縮至膏，加1倍分量的蜜即成，冷卻裝瓶待用，益肺腎補虛，平喘咳潤燥，用於晚期肺癌虛弱，體質軟弱患者。



“偏方治老花眼”



偏方治老花眼
配方如下：中型馬鈴薯一個去皮，蘋果一個去皮;中型番茄一個去皮;粗胡蘿蔔一截去皮。放在攪拌機，攪成一杯，最好即飲。食二，三個月，不但皮膚晶瑩，而且神奇，多細小的字都看的見，一清二楚，老花鏡根本用不上。

如果你開始老花，散光或者視力模糊，大可試試這配方，每天早上連渣喝一杯，精神爽利，男女老少咸宜。

按摩治療老花眼，具體按摩方法如下：

1。用雙手中指來回按摩眉毛20次;

2。用雙手四個手指向兩側按摩眼睛20次;

3。用雙手中指從下至上按摩鼻樑20次;

4。用雙手中指順時針按摩太陽穴20次，20次再逆時針;

5。用雙手拇指按摩耳根20次;

6。用雙手拇指和食指捏住耳垂往下拉次20。

長期堅持做這6個動作，不但可以防治老花眼，而且還能減少皺紋，保持頭腦清醒。



枸杞，具有補腎益精，養肝明目的保健功能，是中年人常用的滋補，美容，長壽的佳品，與人參，何首烏並稱益壽中草藥的“三寶。早在古代，醫學家就已經掌握了枸杞的藥性。宋代陳直“養老奉親書”中載長期服用枸杞，可使人“明目駐顏，輕身不老，明目安神，令人長壽。”

“本草正義”中載：“枸杞，味重而純，故能補陰，陰中有陽，故能補氣，所以滋陰而不致陰衰，助陽而能使陽旺。南宋大詩人陸游年老時曾眼睛昏花，後來因堅持每日吃一杯枸杞羹，最終治愈了老花眼。為此陸游作詩曰：“雪霽茅堂鐘馨清，晨齋枸杞一杯羹。”

枸杞含有14種氨基酸和大量的胡蘿蔔素，還含有甜菜鹼，菸鹼，牛磺酸，乙維生素以及鈣，磷，鐵等物質。現代醫學研究證明，枸杞不僅能用於防治糖尿病，高血脂症，肝病及腫瘤，對防治眼疾也有特殊的醫療價值。枸杞中所含的大量胡蘿蔔素，進入人體後可在酶的作用下，轉化成維生素答：維生素甲向來被稱為保護眼睛，防止視力退化的特效維生素。由此可知，枸杞對健身明目具有很強的功效。

步入中年的朋友如願意使用枸杞蜂蜜茶保護眼睛，治療老花眼，可參照以下偏方：取優質枸杞一勺，沖洗乾淨後放入杯中，再用開水兌入。待兩三分鐘後水溫稍涼時，再放入一勺蜂蜜，攪拌均勻後即可飲用。每日晨起，睡前各飲一杯，兩個月後即可見效。

此外還有幾個偏方：
1。枸杞酒。取枸杞200克，白酒300克。將枸杞洗淨，瀝乾水分，剪碎後放入細口瓶內，加入白酒，密封瓶口。每日振搖酒瓶一次，15浸泡天即可飲用。飲完後再加入300克白酒，如上法再浸泡一次。每日臨睡前飲用，20克每次飲。

2。枸杞粥。優質枸杞50克，粳米100克，洗淨後同煮成粥，可作為每天早餐食用。

3。枸杞蛋。雞蛋兩個，枸杞30克，洗淨後同用水煮。雞蛋熟後去殼，放入湯內再煮，煮好後吃蛋喝湯。連吃天為一療程3-5 ，停一天後繼續食用。一般3個療程即可見效。

親子丼 (Oyako Don)

I went to JTown today for lunch and ordered 親子丼.


It is good... but a bit too sweet for my taste...
Since this dish looks very easy to make, I've decided to look for a recipe to try it at home...

What is 親子丼?
It's chicken, onion, eggs with rice.

I've found a cooking video at youtube:


Ingredients:
(serves 1)

50ml Dashi Soup (柴魚高湯)
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 tbsp Sake
1/2 tbsp Sugar
1/2 tbsp Mirin (味醂)
1/2 Small Onion
85g Chicken Meat (3 oz)
2 Eggs
10 Japanese Wild Parsley (Mitsuba)
200g Rice (7 oz)


I've also found another web site with photos teaching people how to make Oyako Don.

I have most of the ingredients... I am going to try it out this week... :D

Aki Da Japanese Seafood House

I went with three co-workers to Aki Da Japanese Seafood House for dinner yesterday. Since one of them has been to this restaurant multiple times, she was the one ordering our food. I was just there to eat. This is good! No need to use my brain after a day of work!!

The four of us sat inside a small tatami room. We didn't order the normal bento or set dinner. We were here for special food!

Our menu:

- Green salad

- Conch soup
Whole conch sliced with sake fish broth

- Appetizers
Eight small salad dishes including lobster salad, 2 types of seaweed salads, Japanese small octopus, clam salad, etc.

- Small dishes
Four small expensive dishes including Japanese abalones with fish eggs, Japanese shark fins, another kind of lobster salad, and small white fishes

- Fresh fish in 2 styles
First, half of the fish was used to make sashimi. You could see the whole fish on the plate while we ate the sashimi. After that, the Chef took the fish back to kitchen to grill it. So, the second style was grilled fish.
The fish sounds something like "cool kai"... not sure... Well, I am not that familiar with Japanese fishes.


- Grilled kanpachi (間八)
not the whole fish, but just part of it... very yummy!!

- Chef's special sashimi
We let Chef Kevin Saito picked the sashimi. We had wild salmon, kanpachi, hamachi, toro, fish liver, etc. My favourites were the kanpachi sashimi and fish liver (魚肝). We ate the 魚肝 with special sauce, which looked like soy sauce with oil and green onion. The 魚肝 taste was very fresh and full of fish taste. Delicious!! Oishii!! I love sashimi!!!
We were already full at this point, but we had to keep going!!

- Hot Pot Sake Crab Rice
When the waitress opened the cover of the hot pot, the crab and sake aroma filled the whole tatami room. The fried rices were filled with crab and sake taste. I love the rice. However, the crab wasn't very good. Either the crab was over-cooked or not very fresh.


- Ice-creams
We were filled up to our heads, but we had to try the ice-cream since all ice-creams were made by the restaurant. We tried all favours: green tea, red bean, sesame, taro, ginger, and mango. My favourite was the taro ice-cream.


Even though this meal was expensive, but it was well worth it.
Overall, the food was excellent and the service was good. It would even be better if Chef Kevin or waitress would spent 1-2 minutes explaining each dish.

I would definitely go there again!!

Here is the restaurant's location:

Johnny's Hamburgers

I finally went to Johnny's Hamburgers for lunch today. This place was recommended by a friend a while ago.

Johnny's Hamburgers is located at the south-east corner of Sheppard and Victoria Park. I've passed by this interaction many times, but the small orange building never caught my attention. Driving into the parking lot is also a bit tricky, because you can only enter when you are driving north on Victoria Park.

Johnny’s Hamburgers is not a place where you'll find smiling waitress and comfortable seats. It's basically a take-out joint. There are no tables inside, only a few wooden picnic tables outside. But who cares about that... What matters is the food!!

The price is cheap at this place. I've ordered a cheese hamburger for $3. You can pick different toppings (e.g. onions, pickles, tomatoes, etc.) to put inside your burger. The tomatoes are actually very red and not watery. In addition, you can get fried onions too. I like onions but only the cooked ones. Most burger places only offer raw onions. This place actually offers fried onions. Wow!

My cheese hamburger tastes great! Unlike MacDonald's cheeseburger, which will blow away by wind, this cheese hamburger is fairly heavy. The patty is flavourful and juicy. The cheese slice is thick. The bun is fresh. I am full after eating that burger. I'll definitely come back for more!!


Johnny’s Hamburgers
2595 Victoria Park Ave., 416-491-7222.